Category Archives: Better Thinking

Steve Jobs & the Silo Problem

Last week I told you about failing the GMAT and feeling like a misfit. About learning that intelligence comes in forms our education system doesn’t measure or value. This week, I want to talk about Steve Jobs. But not the Steve Jobs you think you know. In 1995, Jobs sat down for a raw, unfiltered […]

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The Intelligence Trap

(Why We Need Misfits to Save Us) For the longest time, my biggest regret was failing the GMAT. Not because I desperately wanted an MBA. Because that exam was my ticket to an executive MBA program, as a mature student, fully paid for by my employer. That failure proved something I’d suspected my entire life: […]

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New Year, Old Wisdom

Every January, they’ll sell you the same thing with a new label. New strategies. New frameworks. New ways to scale faster, optimize harder, extract more efficiently. The world treats each calendar flip like collective amnesia — as if everything we knew last year is suddenly obsolete. I fell for it for decades; I bet you […]

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The Seven-Year Beef Crisis

The month of November is always special for me because it’s the time when hunting and fishing activities typically slow down. I know this because I scheduled my wedding around the hunting excursions of family and friends. It’s always very quiet in the third week of November. Our wedding feast was very dull and reflected […]

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The Market Never Knocked on My Door

“The market demands higher returns.”   You’ve heard it. Maybe you’ve said it. My journey in the C-suite spanned 30 years, and not once did the market come knocking on my door.   But you know who did? Private equity firms with term sheets. Activist investors with 2% stakes and PowerPoint decks. But never the stock […]

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The Bittersweet Truth About Chocolate’s Future

Are you a chocolate lover like me? When I was in my early twenties, I went on a European travel adventure with my boyfriend and decided to sample chocolate in every country we visited. Then one of my jobs involved extensive international travel, so I continued the taste testing and can proudly tell you I […]

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You Are Chocolate (and that’s perfect!)

Do you remember the old M&Ms commercial? “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand?” I think of that line every time I mess up.  Several years ago, I heard an analogy that stopped me in my tracks. It was so brilliant I immediately claimed it as my own.  Now, let’s be honest, this is what […]

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Three Things Everyone is Feeling (AND What to Do About Them)

You know that feeling when you’re scrolling through social media and suddenly everything feels… heavy? Wars, climate disasters, political arguments, and people being awful to each other. It’s like the whole world is yelling at once, and somehow you’re supposed to have opinions about all of it. Here’s what I’ve figured out: I’m done trying […]

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Finding Joy in the Journey: Lessons from Rehab and Business

I’m writing to you from an unexpected classroom.  The physical therapy clinic where I’ve spent most of July recovering from hand surgery. What started as a necessary step toward regaining full mobility has become one of the most profound learning experiences, and I couldn’t wait to share these insights with you. It all began with […]

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Reframing Failure as a Path to Wisdom

Let’s talk about something we all do.  You know, the one where we beat ourselves up for things that weren’t really our fault.   You know that sinking feeling when something doesn’t work out as planned? That immediate rush to figure out what you did wrong, how you messed up, and why you should have […]

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